


Danganronpa X: Truth is Dead

by its_silics



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Fangan, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-26 00:56:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16671706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_silics/pseuds/its_silics
Summary: 16 classmates. 16 secrets. 1 killing game. Who will survive?





	Danganronpa X: Truth is Dead

The day I got my acceptance letter was quite possibly the happiest day of my life. I remember every single bit of it, from the moment I woke up to when my mum opened that shiny envelope. I remember the look on my parents‘ faces as they read the first few lines, I remember that powerful feeling in my heart, throbbing all the way through my body. I couldn’t possibly fathom there would ever be a happier moment for as long as I lived. Even though my Hope’s Peak experience would only start in a fortnight, I prepared all of my luggage that night. It almost felt surreal, to think I would be attending the world’s most famous, most prestigious high school.    

 

  Hope’s Peak-the school attended only by the best of the best. After the building mysteriously burned down a couple of years ago, the school moved to its own ship to hold lessons. Now Hope’s Peak sails around the world, teaching its gifted student how to truly excel in their field. And I, Hatsumomo Imai, get to attend this school!     

 

I’ve been interested in make-up since I was very young, and I’ve always known that it would be what I wanted to do later on. I practised every day and every night, on myself, family and friends, and eventually I became the best. How is still a blur. I remember blowing up over a few weeks online, and soon enough everyone was begging me to do their make-up. But I loved it! I was always very proud of my make-up and I was really happy others enjoyed it as well.  

 

   And so, the much-awaited day came. And out of any day for my clock to malfunction, it chose the most important morning of my life. I woke up to my mum shaking me like there was no tomorrow, and got dressed as quickly as I could. Eventually, I took off running to the port, toast in mouth like one of those anime protagonists. In around ten minutes, there I was, standing in front of the gigantic ship. There was no one around me, but sure enough, it was me who was later than the rest, so I found it justified. Taking a deep breath and grabbing my luggage from beside me, I entered the ship.

 

The halls were unusually empty and quiet as could be. Over by the entrance, there was an announcement board with dozens of papers stuck on it. There were ads for the clubs of the school, different projects and contest results, but one paper stuck out. It read, “All new students are expected in class 2-9. Second floor, ninth room.” It was handwritten, and whoever had written it had horrible, child-like handwriting. Nevertheless, I made my way to class 2-9. Walking up the stairs, I couldn’t see or hear anyone. Just what had happened ? Had I arrived too late? No, my watch said it was 8.50, and we were supposed to meet at 9, so I was just in time. I walked towards the door and open it.

 

From the other side, I saw what seemed to me like thousands of eyes, all staring at me. In that moment, that sense of realisation hit me, I finally processed that I would be classmates with the world's elite, with celebrities.  I suddenly felt tiny, looking straight into the eyes of people I had seen on TV so many times. I bit my tongue and wheeled my luggage in, closing the door behind me. The silence of the room was shattering my eardrums. I had never been in a room so small, so packed full of people, yet so quiet. No one spoke a word, as if they were all mute, all you could hear were the waves of the ocean, hitting the ship and the muffled song of the seagulls. I quietly sat down in one of the empty chairs, hoping and wishing for something or someone to break the silence. Suddenly, what I assumed was the announcement alarm rang through the halls and in the classroom. It probably wasn't that loud, but in contrast to the silence beforehand, it sounded like what I imagine a plane taking off would sound like. And although it was I who wished for the silence to be broken, I found myself shaking my head at the loudness of the announcement. "All first-years are awaited in the event room." it said. "I repeat, all first-years are awaited in the event room." The announcement sounded scholarly enough, but the voice...It sounded like a child, a little girl. I couldn't be the only one who'd noticed it, I thought, but I was too scared to ask the others their opinions. We all stood up and, one by one, left the classroom for the event room.

 

While we were walking down the hallway, I took the opportunity to observe my new classmates. I recognised a lot of them, obviously, but I was surprised at how many seemed unfamiliar to me. I thought, if you were the best in your field, then surely your face would be recognisable. But it seemed I was wrong. Perhaps they were famous, only they were in fields I didn't know well, or maybe they just steered away from the cameras.

 

The event room was huge, possibly the biggest room I'd ever seen. Rows and rows of chairs led up to a brightly illuminated stage in the center, mauve curtains on each side. I walked down the aisle to it, passing by the chairs and running my fingers over them, feeling their soft, velvet cushions. Eventually me and a few others were standing in front of the stage, close enough so we could see the only thing that was on it: a small doll. To be frank, it was probably the weirdest doll I had ever seen. It was quite petite, with a large head covered in hair, black on one side and white on the other, held in long ponytails. It wore a sailor uniform, only the traditionally blue parts were black. Mesmerised, I touched its face and felt the familiar finish of porcelain. It was truly a very well-crafted doll, I thought. From a distance, you could swear that it was a small child. Suddenly, I heard a giggle and backed away, looking around me from the source. At first I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, but I soon realised the others had heard it too, as they seemed just as confused. The giggle rang again, this time louder, coming from the direction of the stage, almost like...the doll was laughing. But it was impossible! I mean, dolls aren't sentient. I must've pressed some button when I touched it, I argued with myself. But as yet another giggle let itself be heard, the doll suddenly sprung up and began blinking. Frightened, I stumbled back, bumping into someone, who seemed just as scared as me. The doll smiled and jumped on the lectern that stood in the middle of the stage. Still stunned, I sat down in one of the chairs, apologising to the classmate I'd bumped into. I could hear people mumbling and talking to themselves or to others, but my mind was completely focused on the doll, so I didn't understand a word of what they were saying. Eventually, the doll opened its mouth and began speaking.

 

"Welcome, welcome, newcomers!" it said, in a sing-song voice. "Welcome to the Killing Game!"

 

I felt all air escaping my body all the same time, my eyes widening with shock and fear. Had my ears failed me? Did I hear properly? A Killing Game? This was definitely not what I came on the boat for.

 

The room became silent again, no noise to be heard except for my rapid breathing. The silence felt like it lasted for hours, even days, when someone in the back broke it. "Cut the crap! What is all of this?" She'd said what was probably on everyone's mind. I didn't turn to look at her, only staring at my own hands, waiting for something to happen. I remembered reading that whenever you were lucid dreaming, if you looked at your hands they would contort, so I continued staring at them, hoping that soon they'd be taking some crazy shape. Yet that moment didn't come, and the doll laughed again, almost mockingly.

 

"Why, it's the Killing Game, obviously!" its voice rang again, feeling like nails scratching a chalkboard. Its eyes scoured the event room, glancing at all of our shocked faces. "I'll explain how this will go! I'll give you a motive, something to kill for, and once someone does die, you'll have a time limit to investigate the murder scene, interview the others, yadda yadda." it giggled. "Then we'll hold a trial, and if the culprit is caught, they're executed! But, be warned. If you get the killer wrong..." it mimicked the shape of a pistol with its hands and aimed at its head.

 

I heard someone walk down to the stage, muttering something under their breath. Sure enough, it was one of my classmates. She stared the doll dead in the eyes. "No way is the principal allowing this!" she yelled, pointing a finger at the doll. The doll's smile only widened, staring down the girl like she was some insect or some animal at a zoo. "Silly girl, I am the principal!" it bowed, flashing a peace sign. "Yes, I'm your lovey-dovey, oh-so-pretty principal, Mono-chan! So you'd better not disrespect me.", its tone suddenly grew serious. "If you break the rules or try to harm me in any way, you'll be sleeping with the fishes. Literally." it pointed at the windows on either side of the stage. Although we'd only been sailing for a bit, we were already quite far away from the shore, such that we couldn't see any land.

 

"But, um-!" I heard another voice from the back. This time I turned around to see whoever was speaking. It was another girl, this one with long, pink hair, the longest I'd ever seen. Her twin brother stood next to her. "There's no way any of us would kill anyone, even with a motive! We're good people!" she continued. You could sense the fear in her voice, and for good reason. In the end, we were all scared. "Oh, don't you think I forgot about that, Hanada-chan.", the doll giggled. "Yes, the ultimate motive for killing someone...is these.", it said, pulling out a bunch of envelopes from God knows where. "Now, these envelopes contain your daaarkest secret, something that, if it were to be shared with the world, would absolutely ruin your life!"

 

That couldn't be true, I thought. There was no way a doll could find out someone's darkest secret, especially if you hadn't told anyone. There was no way...was there? I took a breath, hoping that that horrible gut feeling would go away. "What're you looking at me like that for?", Mono-chan suddenly grimaced, staring straight into my eyes. I felt like I was drowning in quicksand, I could only mutter an apology and sink into my seat. "No, no, come up here and see for yourself, Imai-chan!", it continued, gesturing for me to come.

 

I half-heartedly got out of my seat and jumped on the stage, where I was handed one of those envelopes. I opened it slowly, praying it would contain some stupid lie, but what was written on it...it was true.

 

"Hatsumomo Imai has a child in foster care."

 

I felt my knees give out and I fell to the floor with a deafening thump. There was no way...How did it find out? It was a secret I'd hidden so well, a secret that cut right back open so many wounds. A secret I was still ashamed of, even though I gave up blaming myself a long time ago. Mono-chan ripped the envelope and the paper from my hand. "Each and every one of you will get one of these. If you get yours, tell me and I will change it. If you don't, it's straight to the execution room with you. And trust me, I will check.", it jumped off of the desk and started marching around the stage. "Once you receive your envelope, you're not allowed to tell anyone who you got or what the secret is. That includes, of course, the person who has said secret. If you do, it's bye-bye. Got it?", it asked us. The room was still silent, cut only by my small sobs, as I attempted to pull myself from the floor. The classmate I'd bumped into in the beginning ran to my side and helped me get up and sit on one of the chairs.

 

Soon enough, everyone, including me, was holding an envelope. I didn't bother to read the secret, closing it back up the moment I saw the name wasn't mine. I could hear others talking to each other, but I was too tired to join in or ask what they were talking about.

 

Mono-chan explained our meal schedule and then handed out keycards for our rooms, which were further down the hallway. It then assured us that today would be a rest day, the last one before the Killing Game.

 

I couldn't comprehend it then, and maybe it was for the better that I didn't, but what I did know is that my life would change forever. My heart was filled with despair, the despair of knowing there isn't anything to do to save yourself, but at least I sought solace in the fact that others were with me. And, in the bottom of my heart, the tiniest flicker of hope shone. I promised myself that I'd stay alive, that I'd at least try and protect those close to me.

 

And so, the Killing Game of Hope's Peak Academy started.


End file.
